Margaret Hurst creates reportage and illustrations that are intelligent, cultural and uniquely personal. Margaret is a professor at Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design and cofounder/instructor at Dalvero Academy. Margaret works in all areas, with all mediums, and always in good design. She is a member and VP of studio1482.com and cofounder of live2lime. Margaret is a graduate of Boston University and Parsons School of Design. She is the author/illustrator of "Grannie and the Jumbie."

During a talk at the Whale Naturalist Conference in Provincetown, I learned how plastic is ingested by fish and then harmfully passed down the food chain to other creatures, even to whales. Buying my iced coffee everyday, I realized that I was tied into this process, too. One daily straw seemed like nothing; hundreds of straws over a few months was mind-opening.

In Chinese philosophy, a red thread of fate ties us all together. Here, the red thread is symbolic of the link between humans and the ocean's creatures that exists whether we are aware of it or not. I collected my straws, and those of friends, and bound them with the red thread of fate to open all our eyes to these often elusive connections.

USA Forever stamps created for The 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan